“At that greatest of all spectacles, that last and eternal judgment how shall I admire, how laugh, how rejoice, how exult, when I behold so many proud monarchs groaning in the lowest abyss of darkness; so many magistrates liquefying in fiercer flames than they ever kindled against the Christians; so many sages philosophers blushing in red-hot fires with their deluded pupils; so many tragedians more tuneful in the expression of their own sufferings; so many dancers tripping more nimbly from anguish then ever before from applause.” –Tertullian

As a rule, I usually have a bad attitude about my fellow citizenry. Let’s face it: they tend to be morons (hopefully, present company excluded). Between their numbness to how the rest of the world actually works, their capacity for narcissism (not exclusive to nationality, certainly), and the raging pride of anti-intellectualism, it is a monumental effort not to club some of them when they mouth outrageous stupidities.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Tuesday grilled a pastor who supports the separation of church and state, asking him why he did not share the “good news” that non-Christians were going to Hell.

At a House Judiciary Committee hearing about religious freedom on Tuesday, Gohmert told the Rev. Barry Lynn, who serves as the executive director for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, that the Founders of the country — and Franklin Roosevelt — had often mentioned religion in their writings.

Lynn pointed out that he had received the Medal of Freedom from the Roosevelt Institute for his work supporting the freedom to worship.

“But that wasn’t awarded by Roosevelt himself?” Gohmert interrupted, before asking if the pastor understood that the “meaning” of being a Christian was to evangelize.

“Do you believe in sharing the good news that will keep people from going to Hell, consistent with Christian beliefs?” the Texas Republican wondered.

Lynn, however, disagreed with the congressman’s “construction of what Hell is like or why one gets there.”

“So, you do not believe somebody would go to Hell if they do not believe Jesus is the way, the truth, the life?” Gohmert pressed.

The pastor argued that people would not got to Hell for believing a “set of ideas.”

“No, not a set of ideas. Either you believe as a Christian that Jesus is the way, the truth, or life or you don’t,” Gohmert shot back. “And there’s nothing wrong in our country with that — there’s no crime, there’s no shame.”

“Congressman, what I believe is not necessarily what I think ought to justify the creation of public policy for everybody,” Lynn explained. “For the 2,000 different religions that exist in this country, the 25 million non-believers. I’ve never been offended, I’ve never been ashamed to share my belief. When I spoke recently at an American Atheists conference, it was clear from the very beginning, the first sentence that I was a Christian minister.”

“So, the Christian belief as you see it is whatever you choose to think about Christ, whether or not you believe those words he said that nobody basically ‘goes to heaven except through me,’” Gohmert concluded, ignoring the point about separation of church and state.

I’d really like to go down to Texas, find this guy, and slap the ever-livin’ crap out of him.

For one thing, maybe the Founders did spout off about religion a lot (being politicians, you have to pander to your constituency) – but they also meant for us to have slaves. Thomas Paine often quoted the bibble, but that didn’t stop him from writing one of the most scathing critiques of said tome, still a classic to this day.

Maybe Gohmert Pyle should’ve done some reading – but of course, being a Republican, Faux Noise isn’t just a TV show, it’s a repository of ‘facts’.

Pyle missed this little nugget, for instance:

“The traditional Jeffersonian principle of religious freedom was so broadly democratic that it included the right to have no religion at all – it gave to the individual the right to worship any God he chose or no god.” – FDR

And all of us could quote presidents as early as Washington, all the way up to Obama (oh, hey, I’ll be the Founding fathers never saw that one coming!) on the topic of SOCAS till we were collectively blue in the face, but Gohmert wouldn’t listen. It’s what Republicans do, after all. Pull facts out of their asses, and claim they’re covered in chocolate.

And really, this goes to something I’ve been saying for years: if anyone holding high office in this country holds allegiance to their religion above their oath to the constitution, they can’t be trusted to make objective decisions for the rest of us who do NOT adhere to their belief system.

And from what I’ve seen, that’s the bulk of the Republicans in office right now. Untrustworthy, narrow-minded bigots white good ole boys who cry ‘Limited government’ out one side of their mouths, while dictating what women can do with their bodies, defending 10 commandment statuary, insist that SOCAS is unidirectional, and other such affronts to the rational mind.

Obviously, evolution favors the idiot who shouts loudest, not the rational person who thinks.

What bothers me the most about articles like this is, are there no rational thinking people to vote idiots like this out of office. I realize this is Texas where rational people may be a t a minority, but please do something. Friends thought I was crazy when I retired and moved to Europe, but I still vote absentee and I vote a straight democratic ticket. I just hope that enough people will vote to rid Washington of these idiots and the states also.

Happy…erm…”Fathers Day” to all you “Fatha/Muthas”!
I’m alone (and lonesome!), since my beloved Nikki “passed away”…and never “had” kids; and I’m a very longtime ‘orphan’…Soooo…”Yada-Zama”? ;)
Seriously…
Thanks, JTD, for again posting that “Authoritarian” link.
Related, and also referred to in that text, is the 2007 HBO special by Alexandra Pelosi (Nancy’s daughter), which happens to now be accessible (in Full) on YouTube. Here’s the link, for anyone who’s never seen it. It’s well worth watching, since it points up EXACTLY (and, IMO, quite ‘scarily’) the same thing that “Guber”, and way too many of his Rethuglican cohorts literally believe in; and are very seriously out to “install” OVER and above our Constitution.
[I’m also reminded of Dawkins’ 2006 documented encounter with that BS screwball idiot, Ted Haggard.] …

Bottom-line?…Be sure to get out (off your lazy ass? :shock: ) and VOTE DEMOCRATIC in the November 2014 mid-term elections!!!

I think the title of this thread is misleading, since the Republicans have been mental since the Nixon or Reagan administrations… They’ve simply raised their insanity level a bit more within the past couple decades…

What scares me the most are the sheer numbers of these lunatics… It’s as though anyone with half a brain or more must go into hiding in America…while it’s trendy to knock, bitch, and curse out “Hussane” Obama… It’s as though the Republicans have engineered a new means of generating sheer hate for anything non-Republican… You lost your job? Obama’s to blame! You’re not making enough money? Obama’s to blame! There’s a school shooting–Obama’s to blame! Your pet died–Obama’s to blame!

The utterances of politicians can be painful. The utterances of religious nuts can be excruciating. But there is a notable lack of the two combined in my country, compared to your own. About three federal elections ago I noticed on the ballot paper ‘Christian Democrats’. My face twisted into fury but as I noticed other nearby voters looking at me with concern, I took a long breathe and hissed, “Lets hope this doesn’t become a common thing on the voting forms”.
Those next to me knew what I was looking at and shrugged shoulders, silently accepting that I was concerned about a political party identifying themselves as religious. I was seen as being a little over- concerned, I saw them as being very under-concerned.
We normally have such a lack of obvious connection between religion and politics. I hope it stays that way. Makes it difficult to understand what Americans live with, religion obvious in their politics, obvious in their neighborhoods ! It is different to most of the stage in Australia but i’m getting better at relating to the views of American commenters, with each post I learn a little more about what it is like to be an atheist in that country.

“Christian Democrats” – Sounds like something a Black Conservative group would come up with!
The way things are going why don’t they just make it easier on ballots and just divide ‘em up into “Christian” “Jewish” “Muslim” and “Atheist” categories… And just for fun chuck in some wild hybrid like “Christian-Muslim” to spice things up! The utterly confused (Black Muslims?) will vote for the “C-M” while the gays and scientists will vote for the Atheist, the guys wearing black beanies will vote for the Jew, the Sharia ragheads’ll vote for the Mooslim, and the solid “moral” majority will vote for the Catlick who’ll automatically end up president by sheer numbers… And I’ll be writhing in agony in a fetal position in a semi-catatonic state having to endure this shit…

Seriously, when it comes to swaying the public in this country whether to vote for one candidate or another, I think religion plays 90% of that role! And thanks to that that includes race and all manner of religious stands…like abortion, gay marriage, you-name-it… Each religion has its own stand and political representative…
And they say we’ve got this thing called Separation of Church and State…

With 70-80% of the population in American being Christian, a Fascist theocratic police state lies just in the balance for the near future… All we need is a super George W. Bush…

Just to reminisce a bit…
a somewhat recently posted (5/18/14; by Agatan Fnd), and nicely edited, 2 parter tribute to a (personally) much missed…incomparably courageous, to boot…most articulate voice of reason:
And…